Robert was born in Bridgeport, Conn.. Grew up outside of Boston in Needham, Mass.. Went to Needham High. Attended Dartmouth college. Served in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan. Married Jewell Griggs in 1973. They had met while both were serving in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan. They moved to Beals Island, Maine in 77.

Robert began painting in Maine while also fishing for lobster off Beal's Island in 'Down East Maine'. Maine's picturesque scenery and quaint atmosphere lead him into semi-abstract painting of life on the water - as a lobsterman.

Robert was very active in conservation - 'Forever Wild' - was one of his favorite quotes.

He served as president of the Galt Conservation Society, which eventually merged with Downeast Coastal Conservancy.

Love of nature and it's beauty has always been one of his passions since his youth. This love continued to grow from his teenage years while being an avid trout fisherman, and a member of Max's Pond - a trout fishing club in Needham, Mass., where he had grown.

Robert was a lover of Art, Nature and also Poetry, of which he had written a great deal while in Afghanistan.

He has been a "small boat" lobster fisherman for 50 years. As an artist he has been painting mostly the fishing boats, seas, and harbors around Beals Island and Jonesport, Maine, also for about 50 years. His style is generally abstract-expressionistic in mixed medium: watercolor, acrylic, conte-crayon, and colored pencil. Some of his admired artists are Cy Twombly, the German Expressionists (such as Schilele and Nolde), de Kooning, and -- closer to home -- John Marin. In his Snapfish books he has combined his paintings with select poetry from the 19th Century Transcendental and Romantic Poets.

He has recently compiled several books of his paintings: "The Drunken Boat" series, "The Myth of the Nobel Fisherman", "Comely Weeds", and "Beals Island".